Some teams love to wave the “we’re self-managing” flag whenever alignment is discussed. But let’s be real—autonomy doesn’t mean doing whatever you want, whenever you want. It means taking ownership within a shared framework.
Scrum provides a system where teams have the freedom to decide how they deliver, but that doesn’t mean they can ignore Scrum events, commitments, or organisational goals. The Product Owner ensures alignment to business value. The Scrum Master ensures alignment to agility. The team ensures alignment to delivery.
Autonomy without alignment isn’t self-management—it’s dysfunction. True self-management is earned through trust, consistency, and accountability.
So the question is: Is your team truly self-managing, or just avoiding accountability under the guise of autonomy?
If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.
We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.
Alignment Healthcare
Epic Games
Graham & Brown
Genus Breeding Ltd
Brandes Investment Partners L.P.
Kongsberg Maritime
Deliotte
Slicedbread
ALS Life Sciences
NIT A/S
SuperControl
Teleplan
Cognizant Microsoft Business Group (MBG)
Akaditi
Higher Education Statistics Agency
Philips
Qualco
Workday
Ghana Police Service
Washington Department of Transport
Department of Work and Pensions (UK)
Nottingham County Council
Washington Department of Enterprise Services
New Hampshire Supreme Court
Bistech
SuperControl
Qualco
Genus Breeding Ltd
YearUp.org
Emerson Process Management